Recap:

Shin-Soo Choo drove in the winning run with a single off the wall in the 10th inning, and the Reds secured their third playoff spot in four years shortly after beating the New York Mets 3-2 on Monday night.

The Reds clinched theirs after Choo's drive smacked high off the wall in left-center field. Eight minutes later, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 4-3, clinching an NL wild card for Pittsburgh.

The Reds were pulling for first-place St. Louis to lose. Instead, the Cardinals retained their two-game lead over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

The Reds kept pace with St. Louis despite squandering plenty of chances to end it early. They wasted a chance in the ninth, when David Aardsma pitched out of a bases-loaded threat by retiring Todd Frazier on a fly out.

Greg Burke (0-3) gave up a one-out single to Devin Mesoraco in the 10th, and Derrick Robinson singled him to third. Choo followed with his third hit of the game, off left-hander Sean Henn, a drive high off the wall in left-center. Choo headed for the dugout after crossing first base.

Johnny Cueto made a second solid start since coming off the disabled list, an encouraging sign for Cincinnati's postseason plans. The right-hander has been sidelined three times by soreness near his shoulder.

He gave up two runs -- one earned -- on Lucas Duda's sacrifice fly and solo homer, which snapped an 0-for-17 slump. In two starts, Cueto has allowed eight hits and one earned run in 12 innings.

Aaron Harang is 3-0 in four career starts against the Reds, including a 4-2 victory with Seattle on July 5 at Great American Ball Park. The Mariners later released him with a 5-11 record.

The Reds sustained their hopes of another division title by winning another long game -- they are 13-9 in extra innings.

They were six games out on Aug. 9, in danger of falling out of the division's three-team race. They regrouped and have taken the race down to the final week by winning 12 of their last 17.

Game Notes

New York's David Wright had his hitting streak ended at eight games. ... Billy Hamilton got in as a pinch-runner in the eighth and stole second, leaving him 13 for 13 in attempts. The Mets called for a pitchout but Frank Francisco threw it over the plate. ...